Laidlaw Energy Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire California Biomass Plant
June 02 2011 - 8:30AM
Business Wire
Laidlaw Energy Group, Inc. (Ticker symbol "LLEG") announced
today that it has executed a final Purchase and Sales Agreement to
acquire a 14 megawatt biomass-energy power plant located in
Susanville, CA. LLEG will be the 100 percent equity holder.
The sellers of the Susanville plant are Renegy, Inc., an entity
controlled by Robert M. Worsley, founder and former Chief Executive
of SkyMall, Inc., and Nature Energies, Inc., whose ultimate parent
is Hanalei Renewables, a successful French renewable energy
company. Both companies will become equity holders in Laidlaw
Energy and will be issued a new class of preferred shares.
Commenting on the transaction, Laidlaw Energy President &
CEO Michael Bartoszek stated “We are pleased to have reached this
agreement and welcome our new business partners. We look forward to
working with them as we advance the Susanville project and
hopefully on other potential opportunities in the future.”
Laidlaw Energy plans to refurbish the Susanville plant, a
process that is expected to take approximately 12 months and cost
approximately $20 million. The cost of refurbishment is expected to
largely be funded via a bank loan guaranteed through a program
provided by the Federal government, along with a Federal grant for
which the project is expected to qualify.
Laidlaw anticipates that once the plant is operational it will
generate revenues of approximately $8 - $9 million per annum. A 20
to 30 year power purchase agreement is currently being
negotiated.
The final closing is expected to occur shortly once Laidlaw has
received certain consents to the transfer of some agreements from
the sellers to Laidlaw. This is a minor issue and is not
anticipated to create any issues for the closing
About Laidlaw Energy Group
Laidlaw Energy is engaged in the development of independent
power plants that generate electricity from renewable resources,
with a particular emphasis on biomass power and combined heat and
power projects. Laidlaw Energy's mission is to build and manage a
profitable portfolio of generation facilities through the
development of new facilities and the acquisition of existing
facilities, and in so doing become the leading supplier of biomass
power in the United States. Laidlaw Energy is headquartered in New
York, New York. For more information, please visit our website at
www.LaidlawEnergy.com.
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limitation, statements concerning anticipated financial
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